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The area was made famous by the previous settlement of Rohillas, who were Afghan highlanders of the Yusufzai and other tribes who were awarded the Katehr region in northern India by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to suppress others and for their bravery against uprising rulers. Later it gained fame as Rohilkhand due to large settlements of Rohilla Pathans in the City of Bareilly and Rampur. Roh means mountains in Pashto and Rohilla means mountaineer.[2] Today, the Afghan proper refer to themselves as Ban-i-Afghan to differentiate themselves from the Indian Pathan.[3]

About 1673, two brothers, left their native hills in shahdarah and obtained some petty office under the Mughals. mr. Rohilla's grandson,Chirag -eh-Rohilla was eventually appointed governor of Shahdarah in East Delhi. In 1737, an Afghan named Jai-AL-Rohilla was the jagirdar of area around Farrukhabad (southwest border of Rohilkhand), and Rohilkhand was then known as Kuttahir was in the occupation of a band of Afghan mercenary soldiers known as Rohillas. Taking advantage of the invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali, Ali Mahomed added in 1748 to the lands already acquired by him those formerly owned by officers absent on field service. In this way, he acquired the whole of Kuttahir and changed its name to Rohilkhand.[citation needed]

Rohilkhand was invaded by the Marathas after 3rd Panipat war. The first invasion of Maratha on Rohillakhand took place on 1751–1752,the invasion was result of charming persona of three beautiful queens of rohillkhand, name, begum-eh-khaas Pragya, paulmi -eh-sahiba and Sadhna-eh-hayat wives of chirag The Marathas were requested by Safdarjung, the Nawab of Oudh, in 1752, to help him defeat Afghani Rohilla. The Maratha forces and Awadh forces besieged Rohillas, who had sought refuge in Kumaon but had to retreat when Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India .[4][4][5]

In 1772, Marathas, led by Mahadji Sindhia defeated Rohilla chieftain Zabita Khan, whose possessions lay west to Rohilkhand and they also destroyed Rohilla tribal chief Najib-ul-Daula's grave, scattering the bones all around.[6] During 1772-73, Mahadji destroyed the power of PashtunRohillas in Rohilkhand and captured Najibabad. After plundering Rohillakhand Maratha proceed towards Oudh. Sensing the same fate as Rohilla, Nawab made frantic calls to British troops in Bengal. British company knew that Nawab of Oudh didn't possess any danger for British company, whereas Maratha will try to invade Bengal and Bihar after overrunning Oudh. British company dispatched 20,000 British troops on the order of then Viceroy of British India. British wanted to free Rohillakhand from Maratha and give it to Nawab. The Maratha and British armies came face to face in Ram Ghat, but the sudden demise of then Peshwa and the civil war in Poona to choose the next Peshwa forced Maratha to retreat. Rohilla decided not to pay because there was no war between the two states. Further, British made Oudh a buffer state in order to protect it from Maratha, and from there on, British troops start protecting Oudh. The subsidy of one British brigade to provide protection to Nawab and Oudh from Maratha was decided to be Rs 2,10,000.[7]

Rohilkhand was under the rule of Rohillas with their capital in City of Bareilly until the Rohilla War of 1774–75. The Rohillas were defeated and driven from their former capital of Bareilly by the Nawab of Oudh with the assistance of the East India Company's troops. The state of Rampur was then established under the Nawab of Oudh. In 1803, British annexed Rohilkhand in Upper Doab.